Pearls before breakfast

From the Washington Post.com Musician Joshua Bell dresses down and
plays violin in the washington dc area and no one stopped to listen.
Huge article. I read somewhere in Beethoven's time classical composition was a sign of intellectual thinking in his day. If you were a composer you were
a thinker.

Mental ping pong. JFK said he always preferred talking wtih someone
who had mental ping pong. I do too.

I learned alot from writing here - a non- build a teacher blog.

I think for me, it's better to think about the after hours we'll have as a
teacher than the work arena. For me, I take it on faith you guys got
it together. Relaxing might be something different for you.

Thanks, and good night and good luck.

P.S. I don't have any secrets, but music is huge. Burt Bacharach is
my secret. Especially the last album At this Time. If you have an album
to play when you go home, that's just about everything. You can just
throw the rest of the world off you and get back to yourself.

No teacher left behind...

Well, now we know that fifth graders are smarter than we are,
I'm getting worried. I hope all the teaching jobs don't
go to the kids...okay, so does anyone know who, in our class,
said something about "no teacher left behind"?

I'm pretty sure it wasn't me. I guess Id like to know, that's all.

100 goals - easy! Try this!

Okay, so when you sit down to do this, you definitely have to think
in terms of small goals. like finding a pizza place, or large - like finding a house,
or buying a new jazz c.d., or whatever. Buying a new jazz c.d. maybe
the only thing possible on your list, but once you start thinking up things,
you won't stop. A goal like spending more time with your spouse, parents
or kids - anything like that is fine too. Many of mine were next to
impossible - but if it's a dream, it's still a goal. I quit at 161 in self-help. For me, it just keeps everything in one place. Not a bad exercise.

Since this is build a teacher, I definitely put things in my list relating
to my future teaching career. (I hope...)

It really is cool to do this exercise. Try it and see.

100 Goals

Well, I was just out there surfing and I found this little
gem on a top acheivement blog--I was looking for time management
and organizers, so how I wound up there, I don't know. It's
just top acheivement.com and it has some cool articles.

I don't think I could get past the first ten even if they were
really small goals. well, writing and acheiving are two different
things...so, if you guys have time to kill over the break, here it is-
something for you to do... write 100 goals. Large and small.

my only goal is to find a great pizza place. Sounds like fun, yes?

my other blogs that I like are lifehacker and 43 folders. Great stuff,
intelligent blogs - explains computer tech and also real life stuff.
I highly suggest those for a look.

Good night.

Graphic Organizers - Life Tango

Graphic Organizers. Well, I like them just fine but they don't seem to
like me. I never can seem to keep up with mine. It really doesn't
matter if it's a calendar, an appointment book, post-it, a sheet of paper
with my daily to-do list....you name it, I really just can't. So, how about
you? Do you have any great pointers for me?

Well, I've decided just recently to keep a computer graphic system
and still use my personal organizer. So, this is for me right now - heaven
help me when I get a real teaching, like Kim (way to go Kim!) No idea
what Ill do then. I'll have to hire a secretary maybe...

So, I'll leave you with the key words and small explanation of the ones
I've found so far.

My personal favorite - Life Tango. Pretty exotic, huh? Seems like there
ought to be a guy in a tuxedo, with a vodka martini in his hand but actually
it is a basic site which in essence gives you all kinds of room to play in, so you
can set your goals. Any goals, professional, personal, travel - whatever. If
you want to email your goals, somehow other people with your same
interests will e-mail you back.

goplan - like it sounds
basecamp-individual or people projects
highrise-addresses, contacts, task lists, cases, research
campfire-personal chat room
tada lists-like tah da!
backpack it - 2 writeboards
wridea-also write/idea boards with its own blog for services
The above are good beacuse they are free of spam advertising
none that I can tell.

also I found
ezagenda.com - loaded with good stuff. Has multilple things
it keeps track of.
Then there is Zoho. Zoho office stuff and zoho email 1 g. Seems decent,
but i haven't found anything out about that--just found it a
couple of days ago and haven't had the chance to look it over.

Well, fun emails - we may as well share those too. I love jazzmusic.org
because it is reliable, spam minimal, and has access to a great jazz page.
Im growing fonder of opera email because you can also download a
browser and get a blog there. And ladies, it's nice because it's a
pretty shade of red.

Write back if you have any cool ideas, emails or graphic organizers.
I hope I'm using that term graphic organizers properly.

Good night.

psychology of music

i remember this class not because of what i learned but because of
what i didn't learn. with great expectations i show up to a classroom
theater style seating of 150 people or so and listened to the t.a.
talk about music being a new therapy and how well it worked with
the elderly and children. the rest was just stuff. no content. no
music examples. no paul, beatles, elvis, sinatra, or glenn miller.
nothing but desert....well, in a university the size of mine, no roll
was taken, so i took the syllabus, showed up for a class in the middle
to see if any changes had been made - there hadn't been, and slipped
out at the break, returning for the final. pulled a C for my efforts.
i deserved the C for my efforts, however they owed me alot more
for intentional infliction of emotional distress. taking a subject like
that without the music itself was also criminal, i think.
no great thoughts here, just some of the things i think about when i
think of college. in all fairness, i wasn't a psych major either. they
probably loved it. i just showed up for the music.

assignment calendar

i wish i had this site earlier for the research paper
but maybe it will help for the next session for you as
well. you can search this item with key words.
the university of minnesota-libraries has a site and a study aid
called assignment calculator where it has instructions
on how to divide one's time, what to study, and usually
hints or stategies explaining the assignment and providing
how to's on whatever subject you want. the highlighted
areas will also re-direct you to another library site
like the owl at purdue - indiana with the information
you want.

good luck researching and writing.

interviews....!

hope you and the others had productive interviews. be sure and tell us all the
details! saw the article in the naples paper that 120 showed up. that sounds like
fun. hope it was. i'm proud of you and the others jumping in there. details....we all
want details...

Onward Ho!!!

Missed the comments Crystal but not to worry I'm sure. A few of us are interviewing tomorrow for positions with the county. We will certainly leave several for the rest of our beloved cohorts and wish you well in the processs. Something like 100 teachers needed. Many positions at several schools. Hope to be teaching with any one of you. Hope to be teaching. See you soon. How are the papers coming? More time after the interviews are over tomorrow. Cathy

ghost in the machine

what a time for this computer of mine to obliterate my apology....i said a
couple of sarcastic things about school that i think wasn't too good on my part. just the frusterations of a workaholic that happened i guess. thanks.

search engine for you

EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY INTERACTIVE

JUST DO THE KEYWORDS ON THE EXPLORER

Teaching

Bruce Lee as a mentor in life. I certainly have not much knowledge about him but the discipline of martial arts always applealed to me. I was a team sport player, my kids were all team sports players. My daughter had to decide between becoming a horseback rider (much alone time), or a basketball and Lacrosse player. Well her teammates were already part of her life - it began in 3rd grade. Kind of hard to let go of that and go on you own way. Kind of matches what chapter 9 teaches about the increased importance of peers as students hit middle school.

We recently had to think through our mission as a teacher. What exactly is it that each of us hopes to find in the classroom. It was hard to synthesize it down to a small morsel and in fact, to accomplish another projects requirement, I split my mission into two parts and called them mission and goal. Maybe some of the same but at the time I did not think so.

My mission as a teacher - what do I want to do. Well, I want to make a difference in someones life. I want to be a positive influence where I know many students today do not have one. I want to a person of stability, of positive persona, of committment and excellence. I want to work in a team for a greater purpose (or at any rate suffer together if that is the consensus of a long day or week). I want to move people forward in life towards a positive future.

My beliefs come into play though I have not really had to exhaustively write them as of yet. That each child is uniquely created with the ability to learn is a belief. That teachers have a tremendous influence is a belief as well. It is great to help someone develop who they are and what they are able to do. I would like to be able to play a part in developing cognitive skills - thinking skills for my students. I believe that art connects so many things in life and as that is an area that I enjoy, I am going to figure out how to use it to accomplish those goals.
Ok for now.

bruce lee and teaching

i think all of us know deep down school is hardly the process to
build ourselves as teachers. it's a resume item for your paycheck someday.
it's your state of being that is important. the resume item is too but
you've either got the goods or you don't. energy is a different matter.
sometimes we either have it or we don't.

bruce lee knew that any student signing up with him was really looking
for self-actualization. he wisely taught people the path. he didn't hide the
football, play games and change rules, or treat people poorly in any way.

he was also a fanatic about his work as a martial artist. ted wong -
bruce lee's student and great friend said if you want to be as bruce lee,
than you'll train with bruce lee's hours and training methods and diet.
mostly bruce lee was like the beatles. they really made the most of their
moments while they had the passion and intensity to follow through
with their music. they worked.

i can honestly say that my gung fu teacher, ie kung fu teacher, is and was the
best teacher i had. and will ever have. but then again, when i look in the
mirror, i can see that i've been the real teacher all along. my instinct for
self-actualization came along for me when i was young in life. i've always
been hard on teachers because i don't like my time being wasted. i really
don't think there's anything worse than wasting time, because wasting time is
wasting life. and plenty of teachers have wasted my time and my life.

so far, i don't think writing in a blog is a waste of time even if no one reads or
posts anything here. it's a great practice space. reflection is a slow
process. few people have the time or patience to do it. it's another reason
why bruce lee was a great teacher. he also read everytday, took notes and
not just the martial arts items, but philosophy, religion, and science.
the book that is easiest to read for the non-martial artist is striking
thoughts-at your local library. many of bruce lee's concepts in a nutshell.
many about teaching.

paul mccartney still rules...

question.....?

somehow, i feel like i'm being re-directed once too often to sign in. Maybe,
maybe not. mayybe it's just hal my computer toying with me as usual. You?
so, we've got build a teacher, for single journal style writings and group for
group discussion style. kind of like a psychology concept for sure...

i wonder if i just wrote out loud "paul mccartney rules" if anyone would notice.
this is kind like my favorite time of the evening, and my kind of quiet,
just me and Hal, ruminating. i have 2 other personal blogs, and i must say
if i ever have them working, because i think everyone has pretty well figured
out that tech and i aren't compatible just yet, you're all invited.

see you guys later tonight at the clubhouse....and i am wondering if any of you
are noticing any re-directions of your own signing up - i'm really not
kidding about that. good night.

Interesting article

We talked in class two weeks ago about the possibility of conflict with Iran. We are all concerned about life. This article describes technology that may threaten our aircraft carriers. I came across it before that class but I could not remember exact details, so I did not comment at the time.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=akO7Y_ORw538&refer=home

I hope this doesn't offend anyone.

build a teacher.com

Well, I am certain that this is still a great idea. giving thought and reflection to ourselves as students, especially older ones, is a great opportuntiy on reflecting on how you want your classes to be. and who you want to be.
everyday i keep a journal. usually clock in for 2 hours. i think that is the lowest amount of time that self-reflection works for me. if i work any less, i won't get the work done. part work, part real life things, like edison, what i'm
feeling on any given moment. If i write it always pays dividends later.

if you keep a journal, problems will solve themselves and go away. some might
stick in your craw a bit longer and some you will see will hang on till the bitter end.

teachers have to know themselves. They can't afford to be crazy or selfish in
dealing with students and fellow teachers. That is how i see it anyway.

developing training after the training will be necessary for me. I really don't like
sitting on the bench in life. (where i lived, indiana, this was true of boys and
girls and people. Life centered around basketball and the lives we live are
really due to basketball)

Character and Education/"What can schools do?"

I thought the article from the newspaper was interesting, but it's like saying"what this country needs are good family values..." And usually the people asserting thoses remarks are the least qualified to say them, let alone take any action in that direction.

Frankly, it's insulting to most of the children and adults who already have morals, ethics or character. Most of the Ex-Presidents weren't exactly boy scouts, but I'm glad we had them around. Can you imagine this country without Lincoln, FDR or Kennedy or even Reagan forthat matter? I can't.

I believe in teachers teaching manners and morality, but when it starts sounding a little like 1984 and The Stepford Children, well, I have problems with that. And i imagine a few adults and children do too.

Conformity is the larger evil. We adults can saything we want to, including saying thingsto kids like "you can do anything you want with your life--the sky's the limit!" and then there's no follow-up, or follow through and adults as role models are responsible forchildren not dreaming anymore, not rocking the boat and not thinking they really can do anything. Maybe we don't owe children their dreams, but maybe we can be some kind of a teacher that does go the extra mile or two or three.

I think they got it wrong in this article. The focus should be on adults and not children. And maybe not the adults either, now that I've re-read the article. Being is more important than doing, in some ways. You know, to thine own self, be true. If children could be taught that concept, alot more problems could be dealt with. And taught how to breathe, rather than be busy every second of the day being good. Because what good is that?

Good night and good luck.

Kaizen

Kaizen is an interesting concept that still grabs my attention even though I read the book where I was first introduced to the concept. This book is called One Small Step Can Change Your Life by Robert Maurer, Ph. D. The subtitle is called The Kaizen Way.
People get stuck in life because of the fear inside them and the flight or fight process is active, creating a type of paralysis of the mind. The author demonstrates examples from his practice of
psychology of people who couldn't make headway in conquering their fears from people being overweight to people suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. The title suggests the
strategy, kaizen, which is taken one very tiny step in the direction or towards the goal. The
kaizen way is using the smallest step - meaning it is literally impossible to break the goal down any further. He would take a person who had a severe case of PTSD and have that person do the smallest step, i.e. if he took that person who was afraid of flying in a plane, and give them the assignment of mapping the route to the airport, then that would be a small step. The next day he might look in the yellow pages to see what airplanes were available in his town. They are easy to do and a person won't cower with fear in performing these actions.
The reason why the flight or fight method rings true is that is is natural to look at life that way.
However, the author determined that people were often paralyzed by fear and stuck that way by yet another mechanism in our brain that remembers the injury and will always keep a person stuck unless overcome by natural means. Kaizen doesn't try to say a person doesn't have fear or to take steps that a person can't take, until they are ready.
This definitely suits my style of psychology and it makes sense. The book jacket states the
techniques: ask small questions, think small thoughts, take small actions, and solve small problems.
Teachers can use kaizen for students in thinking differently about some of their shyer
students or fearful learners. We can use these in looking at our troubles also.

Re: Brain Development & Learning by Paul J. Eslinger

Two thoughts on this most recent article.

"It is in the first year of life that the basic soundscape of one's native language becomes mapped in the nervous system, providing the phonemic elements that evolve into language. "

I have a friend whose son (now grown) had a a Spanish speaking care giver around the house. My friend and her husband-both bilingual decided that with their third child they would try introducing more Spanish early on. The other kids spoke only English. Well, Ben did not speak as quickly as the other two - it was a bit later in fact but when he began to speak, he knew both English and Spanish. Kind of interesting.

And regarding Multiple Sensory System Involvement:

"Because learning and memory abilities are generally not fully developed in all of these areas, educational approaches that use multiple memory systems lead to more in-depth knowledge and higher retention. "

As a visual learner myself, I know that our training as teachers challenges us to consider learning styles and differentiated education as we create engaging curriculum that will hit the strengths of each student somewhere along the way rather that teach one style and loose students who don't fit the mold.

web quest example

Check this out. A web quest for Estuaries

Fact Monster

Fact Monster

Offers a great research site for students of all ages.
Click on Homework Center in the lower left side of the screen.
The following options are presented.
Click on Research under Skills for tips on writing a research paper.

Subjects		Skills
Geography History Language Arts	Mathematics Science Social Studies	Writing | Research Speaking & Listening Studying

Up late & still reading.......

The chapters by Ormrod are very interesting. Amazing how many details I can pick out of the text and apply to what I see with my son, and in my job as a substitute teacher. Also, things we've already learned in our other two courses. It's all coming together. I thought I'd write down the vocab in my notebook but after the 55th entry for Ch.2 alone, I decided to discontinue that process! My head's spinning. I'm looking forward to a productive day tomorrow where we can bring all this new knowledge together and get some Transfer going. By the way, this is my first Blog posting, Ever...

I made it!!!

This is my posting test. Numerous tries and this looks promising. I heard Colin Powell speak at FGCU tonight. He was great. He does make you proud to be an American and hopeful for a future worth the work. See you all early.

how to blog

For those of you wondering where the buttons are, lets begin simply.

1. go to www.buildateacher.blogspot.com
2. sign in; the button is in the very top right hand corner.
3. It should open you up into your "dashboard"
4. in the very center of the page there is a hyperlink that says "new post +"
click it nd enter or up load what you were going to blog.
the new post can also be found in the upper right hand corner next to where you signed in.
5. hit publish when you are done.

Just so you know the CCEA ,the teacher union for collier county, started a blog so that the teachers would have a forum to voice their opions and concerns regarding what is going on in Imokalee. Because using school email is not secure or ethical to use.( I do not have the address on me)
so there you go.

Comments from C. C.

I had to read the first article by Gardner very closely to stay
focused. He is an extremely knowledgeable and somewhat controversial
expert on the topic of intelligence. I found it very interesting and
informative.

It seems that we should just know innately that people have
multiple/various intelligences; however it appears to be highly debated
in the literature.

Publications on MI

Here are some readings on multiple intelligences (MI).

http://www.howardgardner.com/Papers/documents/T-101%20A%20Multiplicity%20REVISED.pdf

http://www.howardgardner.com/Papers/documents/MI%20After%2020_Feb-03_HG.pdfthese are more along the lines that HTH sent.

Chris

Posting of publications to come

Welcome to build a teacher. I will post some cool pubs on this site.

This is a sample

This is a test.